Shoe sewing machines



April 1959 G. c. BARTON 4 2,881,722

SHOE SEWING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13, 1956 In venzor April 14, 1959 G. c. BARTON 2,

- SHOE SEWING MACHINES Filed Jan. 13. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor. George C Barton I 15% 13 ftzne y April 1959 G. c. BARTON 2 2,881,722

SHOE SEWING MACHINES med Jan. is, 1956 5 Sheets--Sheet 3 Inventor George C Barton April 14, 1959 G. c. BARTON 2,

sx-xoa SEWING MACHINES v 7 Filed Jan. 13. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /5, Inventor George C. Barton April 14, 1959 e. c. BARTON SHOE SEWING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 13, 1956 Inventor George C BQWZOR United States Patent SHOE SEWING MACHINES George Clifford Barton, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, NJ a corporation of New Jersey Application January 13, 1956, Serial No. 559,029

Claims priority, application Great Britain January 26, 1955 Claims. (Cl. 112-38) The present invention relates 'to improvements in lockstitch shoe sewing machines, more particularly of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 473,870, granted April 26, 1892, in the names of French and Meyer.

The machine disclosed in the patent referred to has been employed, both in themanufacture and repair of shoes and is provided with a curved hook needle oscillating toward and from the work being operated upon in a fixed plane and a curved work penetrating and feeding awl movable toward the plane of the needle after penetrating the work to bring its perforation into line with the needle. The patented machine also is provided with a shuttle rotatable in a plane intersecting the plane of the needle substantially at an angle of 90, the shuttle being located just above the needle.

Shoes which require repair usually have a heel attached to them and when sewing a half sole to such shoes by a machine constructed in the manner disclosed in the patent referred to, difliculty frequently is experienced in sewing the half sole along the shank of the shoe on account of interference between the heel and the shuttle or its associated parts as the shoe is fed by the machine.

One of the objects of the invention is to improve the construction of a lockstitch shoe sole sewing machine of the type referred to, in a manner to render it particularly useful for attaching repair soles to shoes having heels or for attaching integral soles and heels to shoes during their manufacture.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention a machine similar to that disclosed in the patent above referred to, and having a shuttle and its associated parts so arranged that the plane ofrotation of the shuttle forms an acute angle with the plane of the needle, thereby avoiding interference with the heel of a shoe being operated upon, in which machine a loop spreader is mounted for movement between the needle and the shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle. plane and also transversely to the plane of the needle to open .up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle by the use of a single spreader actuating mechanism only, comprising a lever similar to one employed in the prior patented machine, which lever is mounted for swinging movement substantially in or parallel to the plane of the needle and in the illustrated machine a stem to which the loop spreader is secured is rotatably mounted in the lever and a link is connected between the stem and a fixed member on the machine frame to impart the transverse movement to the spreader as the lever is operated.

These and other features of the invention, as hereinafter described and claimed, will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section of a machine embodying the features of the present invention; i

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Fig. 2 is a detail view in right hand side elevation of portions of the machine shown in Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is a similar view in left hand side elevation of portions of the machine shown in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of arrow III of that figure;

Fig. 4 is a detail view in front elevation and on an enlarged scale, of portions of a loop spreader and its actuating mechanism in the machine;

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the same parts;

Fig. 6 is a detail view in left side elevation of a retaining plate and a portion of the stem to which the loop spreader is secured looking from the left side of the ma chine;

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view on a further enlarged scale of an alternative form of a link in the loop spreader actuating mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in left side elevation of some of the parts shown in Fig. 3 illustrating their positions after a loop of needle thread has been spread andentered by the beak of the shuttle;

Fig. 9 is a similar view of the same parts showing their positions while a needle loop is being passed about the shuttle;

Fig. 10 is a detail view of the needle, shuttle and loop spreader taken in front elevation, illustrating them in the positions of Fig. 3;

Fig. 11 is a similar detail view of the same parts illustrating them in the positions of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail view in front elevation, similar to that of Fig. 4 illustrating a configuration of a portion of a plate obscured in that figure and showing a loop spreader clamp moved forwardly to bring the loop spreader out of a position which obstructs the removal of the bobbin;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the parts illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, showing the loop spreader clamp moved to operative position; and

Fig. 14 is a perspective detail view of the loop spreader clamp included in the parts shown in Fig. 13.

The illustrative machine is, except as will hereinafter appear, generally similar to the machine disclosed in the prior patent above identified.

In the illustrative machine the stitch-forming devices and their actuating mechanisms comprise an oscillating vertical shuttle 1 of flat cylindrical shape, having on it a beak 2 (see Fig. 3). The shuttle beak enters each loop of needle thread after the loop is spread apart by a loop spreader or thread lifter 5. To draw each loop through the work the machine has a curved hook needle 6, and the shuttle passes each needle loop around a supply of aw'l 7 (Fig. 2) arranged and actuated to penetrate and feed the work in the manner set forth in the prior pat-.

cut. The shuttle is located at the side of the work being operated upon with the needle in a vertical plane 8, indicated by the dot-dash line so labeled in Fig. 1, forming an acute angle of about thirty degrees with a plane 9 defined by the curvature of the needle and indicated by the dot-dash line so labeled. The shuttle also is located at the side of the needle plane with the completed stitches in a seam being inserted. With this arrangement the shuttle 1 lies in the plane 8, extending rearwardly and to the left with its front portion intersecting the needle plane along a line approximately tangent to the needle path. The greater part of the supporting and driving mechanism for the shuttle lies rearwardly of the line of the seam inserted by the machine and clearance is thus provided for the positioning movements of a shoe having *just rearwardly of a half sole to be sewn to the shoe.

A locking thread containing a supply bobbin (not shown) is rotatably mounted on a stud in a circular eccentrically arranged recess in the left hand side of the shuttle, which stud projects from a cover plate 1 9 (see Fig. 9) secured to the shuttle and lying just inside the recess. The outer face of the cover plate 10 presents a smooth surface across which the loop of needle thread passes. The thread supply cover plate 10 is secured to the shuttle by a bayonet joint fastening and may readily be detached with the bobbin on its stud by a suitable tool when it is desired to replenish the supply of locking thread.

As in the prior machine, all of the stitch-forming devices are mounted in a main frame and are actuated by mechanisms driven from a main sewing cam shaft 11. The shuttle 1 has around the greater part of its periphery a flange or shoulder 12 (see Figs. 10 and 11). The flange extends from the beak 2 to one side of a throat 13 (Fig.

11) entering its periphery, into which throat each loop of needle thread is drawn as the loop is entered by the beak. Outer cylindrical surfaces of the shuttle at each side of the flange are, respectively, rotatably mounted in a fixed bracket 14 forming a part of the frame with a block 15 secured to the left hand side of the frame bracket. One side of the flange on the shuttle has secured on it a relatively thin plate 16 (Fig. 1), and the other side of the shuttle has secured to it a similar plate for a purpose hereinafter described, and these plates, re spectively, are engaged by the bracket 14 and block 15 to prevent lateral movement of the shuttle. The bracket and block form a raceway extending about three-quarters ofthe way around the shuttle and leaving a gap at the front lower portion thereof through which each loop of needle thread is drawn upwardly from the needle as the loop is passed about the shuttle and also through which the loop may be drawn downwardly towards the work after it has been passed around the shuttle. One side of the loop passes across said plate 10 and the other side passes between the shuttle and a recessed face on the bracket 14.

The flange 12 on the shuttle has projecting from its periphery a row of gear teeth 17 which mesh with two driven pinions 19 and 21 spaced apart 90 around the shuttle. The row of gear teeth 17 extends around the shuttle from about one end of the throat 13 to about the other end, and each plate 16 extends outwardly to the outer ends of the teeth and thus prevents a loop of thread from being inadvertently picked up by the teeth and carried around by the shuttle. The pinion 19 is at the rear of the shuttle and the pinion 21 is above the axis of the shuttle. During each cycle of the machine the shuttle is oscillated from the position shown in Fig. 3, through about 295 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, and then back again. As the shuttle travels round in a counterclockwise direction from its starting position in which the beak 2 is in about its lowest position, the throat 12 first passes the upper pinion 21 and the shuttle is driven by the rear pinion only. As the throat 13 passes the rear pinion 19, the upper pinion 21 only drives the shuttle. When the shuttle has reached the end of its movement in a counterclockwise direction the end of the throat 13 in the shuttle has moved just beyond the lower end of a gap in the bracket 14 and block 15, so that a small space is provided through which the loop of needle thread carried around the shuttle may be drawn down from the shuttle towards the work. During the return or clockwise movement of the shuttle, the upper pinion 21 drives the shuttle while the throat passes the rear pinion 19 and the rear pinion 19 drives the shuttle while the throat passes the upper pinion 21. The shuttle is therefore positively driven during all its movement, sometimes by both pinions and sometimes by one or the other pinion.

The pinions 19 and 21 are secured on pins which are rotatably mountedin the aforesaid bracket 14, and in a cap 23 secured to the aforesaid block 15. The pinions 19 and 21 are connected by an idler gear 25 secured on a pin rotatably mounted in the frame bracket 14 and cap 23. The lower pinion 19 meshes with a gear wheel 27 secured on a horizontal spindle 29 rotatably mounted in the bracket 14 and the block 15 at the rear of the pinion 19. The spindle 29 also-has secured on it a driving pinion 31. The driving pinion is engaged by a gear segment on the front end of a shuttle cam lever 33, corresponding to the lever referred to as the lever D' in the prior patent referred to, by means of which the shuttle is oscillated.

In the machine disclosed in the prior patent a loop spreader or thread lifter referred to as m spreads each loop of needle thread drawn up through the work by the needle while moving in the plane of the needle so that the beak of the shuttle may enter the loop. In the machine disclosed in said patent the shuttle stands in a vertical plane above the needle, and the loop spreader moves upwardly from the needle to the shuttle and slightly forwardly of the path of the shuttle beak, defining a vertical plane at right angles to that of'the shuttle.

Since, in the illustrative machine the plane of the shuttle lies at an acute angle to that of the needle, a

forward and rearward movement of the loop spreader in the plane of the needle only would not spread the loop in the most suitable direction for the entry of the beak of the shuttle, the beak of the shuttle moving towards the loop at an angle of only 30 to the upper spread arm of the loop. In the illustrative machine the loop spreader is, therefore, moved upwardly in or parallel within the plane of the needle and in a direction transverse to the needle plane to spread the loop and to carry its upper spread arm in front of the shuttle so that the beak of the shuttle may readily enter the loop.

To accomplish the parallel and transverse movement of the loop spreader in the machine of the present inven tion, the loop spreader 5 is secured in a split clamp 35 extending laterally of the machine and having a rearwardly extending stem 37. The stem 37 is rotatably mounted in a spreader actuating lever 39, corresponding to the lever referred to as the lever m in the prior patent. The spreader lever is actuated by a cam lever 41 (see Fig. 2) corresponding to the cam lever referredv to as the lever m of the patent and is mounted for movement substantially in the plane of the needle.

The spreader clamp 35 has a projection 43 (Figs. 4

and 5) extending to the right from its stem and the upper face of the projection has in it a recess 45 in which is seated a lower ball end of a dumbbell link 47. The dumbbell link 47 extends upwardly and has an upper ball end which engages a recess in a front portion of an adjusting member in the form of a lever 49 (see Figs. 2 and 3) which is pivotally mounted on a screw 50 threaded into the frame bracket 14. A tension spring 51 connected between hooks 52 on the projection 43 of the clamp 35 and on the lever 49 holds the ball ends of the dumbbell link 47 in their recesses. The lever 49 has a rearwardly extending portion which is formed with a recess 53 which is engaged by an eccentric portion of a stud 57 rotatably mounted in the bracket 14 and secured by a screw 59 threaded into the bracket. The eccentric stud 57 may be rotated to adjust the thread-engaging end of the loop spreader 5 transversely of the needle plane 9 about the axis of the stem 37. As the spreader lever 39 is actuated the loop spreader is moved from the needle toward the shuttle and the dumbbell link 47 rotates the is at the right of the arm and is arranged to engage the left, hand leg of a loop of thread drawn up through the ,1 work by the needle and to separate this leg from the right The downwardly extending arm has formed at its lower end a hook which hand leg. The laterally extending shank 61 of the loop spreader is secured in an eccentric bore in a split sleeve 63 which is rotatably mounted on a laterally extending horizontal axis in the spreader clamp 35. The sleeve 63 may be rotated in the clamp to adjust the thread-enga ing end of the loop spreader up or down, and the threadengaging end of the loop spreader may be swung about the axis of its laterally extending shank 61 to adjust it toward or from the needle. The eccentric sleeve 63 is clamped in the loop spreader clamp 35 and the arm 61 is clamped in the split sleeve 63 by a screw 65.

The upper end of the dumbbell link 47 (Fig. 2) is held against upward movement by the lever 49 and therefore as the loop spreader clamp 35 is raised toward the shuttle the right hand projection 43 of the clamp 35 is prevented from moving upwardly toward the shuttle with the result that the clamp is rotated about the axis of its integral stem 37 and the lower end of the loop spreader moves upwardly and to the left and slightly forwardly in a curved path to carry the uppermost arm of the loop transversely of the plane of the needle across the front of the shuttle 1 and into the path of its beak 3.

Owing to the construction and arrangement of the shuttle, its supporting means and the bayonet arrangement for holding the plate 10 which carries the supply bobbin of locking thread in the shuttle, the bobbin and the plate 10 cannot be removed with facility when the machine is in its usual stopping position, shown in Fig. 3, since the plate 10 then lies partly behind the idler gear 25 and the cap 23. If the operator desires to remove the plate 10 to renew the supply of locking thread, he first turns the machine by hand until the plate 10 is in a more forward and downward position, as shown in Fig. 9 and is fully exposed so that it may more readily be removed from the shuttle. When the machine has been turned to this position, however, the lower end portion of the loop spreader 5 (solid line position) is at the left of the shuttle where it blocks removal of the plate 10. For this reason the loop spreader, in the present machine, is so supported that it can be moved forwardly so far that its lower end portion does not obstruct the removal of the plate, as in the broken line position of Fig. 9.

To enable the loop spreader 5 to be moved forwardly out of a position obstructing the removal of the bobbin and plate 10, the stem 37 of the spreader clamp 35 besides being rotatably mounted in the spreader lever 39 is also slidingly mounted in the spreader lever. The spreader clamp 35 is normally held in operative position on the lever 39 by the engagement of a second projection 67 (Figs. 4, 5, and 6) on the clamp 35 with a shoulder 68 (see Fig. 6) on the lower face of a plate 69 secured by a screw 70 to the spreader lever 39. The clamp 35 may be turned clockwise from the position of Figs. 4 and 13, however, about the axis of its stem 37 to the position of Fig. 12 to release the projection 67 from the shoulder 68 and may then be drawn forwardly by the operator. When the spreader clamp has been so turned a face 71 on the projection 67 lies just to the right of a face 73 on the plate 69 and another face 75 on the projection lies just below a lower face 77 of the plate 69. The plate 69 has at its forward end a finger 79 which prevents the spreader clamp from being removed entirely from the spreader lever 39 and a notch 81 (Figs. 5 and 13) in the plate 69 into which the projection 67 may be turned to the broken line position of Fig. 12 to prevent the spreader clamp from moving rearwardly.

As the spreader clamp 35 is moved forwardly by the operator the dumbbell link 47 is tilted forwardly and to prevent the upper end of the dumbbell link from falling out of engagement with its recess in the adjusting lever 21 light compression coil spring 83 surrounds the link. The lower end of the compression spring engages a flange 85 (Fig. 3) on the dumbbell link and the upper end of the spring enters a counterbore in the recess in which the upper ball end of the dumbbell link is seated. The depth d of the recess and the length of the spring are such that the spring does not move out of the recess when the loop spreader clamp 35 is moved forwardly. The spring therefore not only prevents the dumbbell link from dropping out of the machine but also guides its upper end into the recess when the clamp 35 is moved back.

When a shoe with a heel attached thereto is presented to the illustrative machine to have a half sole sewn to the shoe, the heel is at the left, viewing the machine from the front, and the shoe is fed to the left. by the awl 7 as the sewing proceeds along one side of the forepart, around the toe and along the other side of the forepart.

In the machine disclosed in the prior patent the presser mechanism imposes a limit on how close a heel on a shoe can approach to the needle at the right'of the needle plane 9 and the shuttle driving mechanism limits the approach of the heel towards the needle at the left of the needle plane. In that machine the heel can approach at the right hand side of the needle plane close enough to allow the stitching in normal sizes of shoes to proceed into the shank just beyond the heel end of the half sole. However, when first presenting the shoe to the machine with the heel at the left of the needle it is, in some sizes of shoes, diflicult, or it may be impossible, to so position the shoe that sewing may be commenced just hcelward of the heel end of a half sole.

In the present machine, the shuttle arrangement hereinbefore described allows a shoe with a heel attached thereto to be so presented to the machine, with the heel at the left or shuttle side of the needle plane, that sewing may commence on all normal sizes of shoes at the desired point just heelward of the rear end of the half sole. The presser mechanism of the illustrative machine is Slmllfll to the presser mechanism of the machine disclosed m the patent and does not therefore interfere with sewing ot the half sole to the shoe at its heelward end.

The arrangement of the shuttle and spreader mechanisms of the present machine and their driving means are such that by substitution of a relatively few parts in the machine of the prior patent, it may be adapted to repair shoes in a manner similar to the present machine, i.e., to commence sewing relatively close to a heel of a shoe being repaired. In adapting a machine constructed in the manner disclosed in said prior patent, a bracket which carries the regular shuttle of the machine is removed and a bracket, which is hereinbefore described, carries the present shuttle, is secured in its place, a suitable cam lever and cam being substrtuted in place of the lever referred to as D in said patent and the cam referred to as D. The'lever referred to as m in said patent is replaced by the loop spreader lever 39 and the spreader clamp 35 carried thereby, the spreader lever 39 being operated by the cam lever and cam groove referred to as m and m respectively, in the patent. Suitable replacement cams are provided to operate the needle, take-up and looper in View of the changed position of the shuttle and the different movements of the loop spreader.

The mechanism hereinbefore described for operating the loop spreader to cause it to move in a two-directional 'path may be modified to give greater assurance that the loop spreader will engage the loop of thread drawn up through the work by the needle as the loop spreader rises. Different thicknesses of work cause the loop of thread between the needle and the work to lie at different angles with the result that if the spreader commences to move "the loop of thread and then to move transversely and upwardly in a somewhat curved path near the end of its movement toward the shuttle to carry the upper spread arm of each needle loop into the path of theshuttle beak.-

This first upward and forward movement of the spreader ensures that it will spread the upper arm of the loop efiectively.

The modification consists in making the aforesaid dumbbell link in two parts, as shown in Fig. 7. An upper part 87 has secured in it a pin 89 which can slide in a lower part 91, there normally being a lost motion gap, indicated at 93, between the parts. A relatively light coil spring 95 compressed between the parts tends to separate them and to open up the lost motion gap. When, therefore, the loop spreader is first raised at the lower end of its movement from the needle toward the shuttle, the lower part 91 of the dumbbell link rises relatively to the upper part 87 and no lateral movement of the loop spreader takes place, the loop spreader moving upwardly and directly forwardly until it engages the needle loop. When the loop spreader has engaged the needle loop all lost motion between the two parts of the dumbbell link has been taken up and such relative upward movement of the lower part is arrested. Thereafter until the loop spreader reaches the upper end of its movement toward the shuttle, the transverse and upward movement takes place to carry the loop across the front of the shuttle in the manner hereinbefore described.

When the modified form of dumbbell link is used the spring 51 normally holds a face 97 (Fig. 4) on the loop spreader clamp 35 against the underside of the plate 69 so as to prevent the spring 51 from closing the lost motion gap 93. When the spreader lever 39 raises the clamp 35 the gap 93 is first taken up as the loop spreader moves toward the shuttle and then the face 97 moves away from the plate 69.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and an embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

l. A shoe outsole stitching machine having a main frame, stitch-forming devices in the frame including a curved hook needle oscillating in a fixed plane toward and from the work operated upon, a shuttle located at the side of the work with the needle and rotatable in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the needle at the side of the needle with completed stitches inserted by the stitch-forming devices, a thread supply cover plate on the shuttle and a loop spreader mounted for movement between the needle and shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle plane and for movement in a direction transverse to the plane of the needle to open up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle, and a main sewing shaft mounted in the frame for driving the stitch-forming devices, in combination with means including a single mechanism connected to the main sewing shaft for actuating the loop spreader in both directions, said mechanism comprising an actuating lever mounted for movement substantially in the plane of the needle, a stem rotatably mounted in the lever and provided with a projection, a clamp to secure the loop spreader in operating position on the stem, a member secured to the frame of the machine to impart movement to the spreader transversely of the needle plane as the lever is actuated and a link connected between the projection and the member.

2. A shoe outsole stitching machine having a main frame, stitch-forming devices in the frame including a curved hook needle oscillating in a fixed plane toward and from the work operated upon, a shuttle located at the side of the work with the needle and rotatable in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the needle at the side of the needle with completed stitches inserted by the stitch-forming devices, a thread supply cover plate on the shuttle and a loop spreader mounted for movement between the needle and shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle plane and for movement in a direction transverse to the plane of the needle to open up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle, and a main sewing shaft mounted in the frame for driving the stitch-forming devices, in combination with means including a single mechanism connected to the main sewing shaft for actuating the loop spreader in both directions, said mechanism comprising an actuating lever mounted for movement substantially in the plane of the needle, a stem rotatably mounted in the lever and provided with a projection, a clamp to secure the loop spreader in operating position on the stem, a member secured to the frame of the machine to impart movement to the spreader transversely of the needle plane as the lever is actuated, a link connected between the projection and the member, and means for adjusting the position of the member engaged by the link.

3. A shoe outsole stitching machine having a main frame, stitch-forming devices in the frame including a curved hook needle oscillating in a fixed plane toward and from the work operated upon, a shuttle located at the side of the work with the needle and rotatable in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the needle at the side of the needle with completed stitches inserted by the stitch-forming devices, a thread supply cover plate on the shuttle and a loop spreader mounted for movement between the needle and shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle plane and for movement in a direction transverse to the plane of the needle to open up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle, and a main sewing shaft mounted in the frame for driving the stitch-forming devices, in combination with means including a single mechanism connected to the main sewing shaft for actuating the loop spreader in both directions, said mechanism comprising an actuating lever mounted for movement substantially in the plane of the needle, a stem having a projection to which the loop spreader is secured and said stem being rotatably mounted in the lever, a member secured to the frame of the machine to impart movement to the spreader transversely of the needle plane, and a dumbbell link extending between the projection on the stem and the member, and means to enable the loop spreader to be moved out of a position obstructing removal of the locking thread cover plate on the shuttle, including a coil spring surrounding the link to prevent its upper end from falling out of engagement with the member.

4. A shoe outsole stitching machine having a main frame, stitch-forming devices in the frame including a curved hook needle oscillating in a fixed plane toward and from the work operated upon, a shuttle located at the side of the work with the needle and rotatable in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the needle at the side of the needle with completed stitches inserted by .the stitch-forming devices, a thread supply cover plate on the shuttle and a loop spreader mounted for movement between the needle and shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle plane and for movement in a direction transverse to the plane of the needle to open up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle, and a main sewing shaft mounted in the frame for driving the stitchforming devices, in combination with means including a single mechanism connected to the sewing shaft for actuating the loop spreader in both directions, said mechanism comprising an actuating lever mounted for movement substantially in the plane of the needle, a stem rotatably mounted in the lever, a projection and a clamp on the stem to secure the loop spreader in operating position, a member secured to the frame of the machine, and a tWopart dumbbell link connected between the projection and the member and provided with a lost motion gap to impart movement of the spreader transversely of the needle plane after the lost motion gap is taken up by movement of the actuating lever.

5. A shoe outsole stitching machine having a main frame, stitch-forming devices in the frame including a curved hook needle oscillating in a fixed plane toward and from the work operated upon, a shuttle located at the side of the work with the needle and rotatable in a plane forming an acute angle with the plane of the needle at the side of the needle with completed stitches inserted by the stitch-forming devices, a thread supply cover plate on the shuttle and a loop spreader mounted for movement between the needle and shuttle in a direction substantially parallel with the needle plane and for movement in a direction transverse to the plane of the needle to open up each needle loop for entry of the shuttle, and a main sewing shaft mounted in the frame for driving the stitchforming devices, in combination with means including a single mechanism connected to the sewing shaft for actuating the loop spreader in both directions, said mechanism comprising an actuating lever mounted for movement sub stantially in the plane of the needle, a stem rotatably mounted in the lever, a projection and a clamp on the stem to secure the loop spreader in operating position, a member secured to the frame of the machine, a two-part dumbbell link connected between the projection and the member and provided with a lost motion gap to impart movement to the spreader transversely of the needle plane after the lost motion gap is taken up by movement of the actuating lever, and a coil spring compressed between the parts of the dumbbell link to open up the lost motion gap while no transverse movement is being imparted to the loop spreader.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 515,621 Scott Feb. 27, 1894 614,802 Duplessis Nov. 22, 1898 1,137,198 Erickson Apr. 27, 1915 1,194,513 Lawson Aug. 15, 1916 2,038,282 Haas Apr. 21, 1936 2,426,662 Ashworth Sept. 2, 1947 

